Bill White
William De Kova "Bill" White (born January 28, 1934 in Lakewood, Florida) is a former professional baseball first baseman who played for the New York and San Francisco Giants (1956, 1958), St. Louis Cardinals (1959- 65, 1969) and Philadelphia Phillies (1966-68). White became a full-time sportscaster for 18 years after his playing career ended. White then served as president of the National League from 1989 to 1994. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bill_White_(first_baseman)&action=edit&section=1 edit Playing career As a minor-leaguer, Bill White was the second black player to ever play for a Carolina League team - the Danville Leafs (1953). Percy Miller Jr. broke the color barrier for that league in 1951. In his 13-season major league career, Bill White batted .286 with 202 home runs and 870 RBIs in 1673 games. He was also one of the top defensive first basemen of his time, winning seven straight Gold Glove Awards (1960–66). White batted and threw left-handed. White is also one of the few MLB players who have hit at least .300 and driven in at least 100 runs in three consecutive seasons. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bill_White_(first_baseman)&action=edit&section=2 edit Broadcasting career White earned a sports program on KMOX radio in St. Louis while he was still playing for the Cardinals. After he was traded to the Phillies, he did a program there. Later, White joined the New York Yankees broadcast crew. He called Yankee games from 1971 to 1988, most often with Phil Rizzuto and Frank Messer. He did radio as well as television during most of that stretch. Bill White was the first African-American to do play-by-play regularly for a major-league sports team. While in Philadelphia, White became the first African-American to broadcast NHL hockey when he called several Flyers' games. On New York City radio, White was featured on WMCA from 1971 to 1977, after which the Yankees switched over to WINS. In 1981, the Yankee broadcast team moved over to WABC. On television, White worked with Rizzuto and Messer on WPIX. On October 2, 1978, calling the American League East championship playoff game on WPIX-TV, White authored one of baseball's most famous calls—that of Yankee shortstop Bucky Dent's home run in the seventh inning against the host Boston Red Sox: White also did sports reports for the CBS Radio Network and helped call several World Series for CBS Radio (along with Los Angeles Dodgers announcer Ross Porter and later, Jack Buck). He also did pre-game reports for the ABC coverage of the 1977 Series, also along with Porter, and handled the post-game trophy presentation for ABC after the Yanks clinched the world title in the sixth game. WPIX and its usual Rizzuto-Messer-White broadcast trifecta carried the ALCS in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980 and 1981, providing New York viewers a local alternative to the nationally-broadcast telecasts. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bill_White_(first_baseman)&action=edit&section=3 edit President of the National League From 1989 to 1994, White served as president of the National League. White was the first African-American to hold such a high executive position in sports. In 2011, White released his autobiography entitled Uppity: My Untold Story About the Games People Play.[1][2][3][4] Bill White currently resides in Upper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bill_White_(first_baseman)&action=edit&section=4 edit See also *Home run in first Major League at-bat *List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters *Hitting for the cycle http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bill_White_(first_baseman)&action=edit&section=5 edit References #'^' Bross, Tim (24 April 2011). "'Uppity': A baseball veteran takes a few swings". Philadelphia Inquire. http://articles.philly.com/2011-04-24/news/29468890_1_personnel-moves-black-players-bill-white. Retrieved 12 May 2011. #'^' "Blazing Baseball Trails From Field To Executive Suite". NPR. 11 May 2011. http://www.npr.org/2011/04/15/135418480/bill-whites-baseball-days-on-the-field-and-on-a-mic. Retrieved 12 May 2011. #'^' Whitaker, Tim (21 April 2011). "The Former Phillie Everyone Should Know". Philly Post. http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2011/04/21/the-former-phillie-everyone-should-know/. Retrieved 12 May 2011. #'^' Sandomir, Richard (22 April 2011). "Bill White, Away From the Rat Race, Is Writing Bluntly About It". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/03/sports/baseball/03white.html. Retrieved 12 May 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bill_White_(first_baseman)&action=edit&section=6 edit External links *Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference *Baseball Hall of Fame candidate profile *Baseball Library |} |} |- style="display: none; height: 2px" | |- style="display: none" | class="navbox-group"|Commentators | class="navbox-list navbox-odd" style="text-align: left; border-left: 2px solid; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px"|The Baseball Network · All-Star Game · ALCS · ALDS · NLCS · NLDS · World Series |- style="display: none; height: 2px" | |- style="display: none" | class="navbox-group"|Key figures | class="navbox-list navbox-even" style="text-align: left; border-left: 2px solid; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px"|Gary Bender · Buddy Blattner · Jack Buck · Ken Coleman · Howard Cosell · Dizzy Dean · Don Drysdale · Leo Durocher · Carl Erskine · Curt Gowdy · Merle Harmon · Keith Jackson · Reggie Jackson · Jim Kaat · George Kell · Jim Lampley · Tim McCarver · Corey McPherrin · Al Michaels · Joe Morgan · Brent Musburger · Jim Palmer · Ross Porter · Bob Prince · Jackie Robinson · John Saunders · Chris Schenkel · Gary Thorne · Bob Uecker · Lesley Visser · Earl Weaver · Bill White · Warner Wolf |- style="display: none; height: 2px" | |- style="display: none" | class="navbox-group"|Lore | class="navbox-list navbox-odd" style="text-align: left; border-left: 2px solid; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px"|1959 National League playoff series · Yankees – Red Sox rivalry · Roger Maris' 61 home run season · The Bird · Chris Chambliss' Walk-Off Home Run · Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx Is Burning · Mr. October · Garvey Home Run · Gatorade Glove Play · The Call · You're Looking at One for the Ages Here · The Double |- style="display: none; height: 2px" | |- style="display: none" | class="navbox-group"|World Series | class="navbox-list navbox-even" style="text-align: left; border-left: 2px solid; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px"|1948 · 1949 · 1950 · 1977 · 1979 · 1981 · 1983 · 1985 · 1987 · 1989 · 1994 ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994%E2%80%9395_Major_League_Baseball_strike cancelled]) · 1995 (Games 1, 4, & 5) |- style="display: none; height: 2px" | |- style="display: none" | class="navbox-group"|AL Championship Series | class="navbox-list navbox-odd" style="text-align: left; border-left: 2px solid; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px"|1976 · 1978 · 1980 · 1982 · 1984 · 1986 · 1988 · 1995 |- style="display: none; height: 2px" | |- style="display: none" | class="navbox-group"|NL Championship Series | class="navbox-list navbox-even" style="text-align: left; border-left: 2px solid; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px"|1976 · 1978 · 1980 · 1982 · 1984 · 1986 · 1988 · 1995 |- style="display: none; height: 2px" | |- style="display: none" | class="navbox-group"|AL Division Series | class="navbox-list navbox-odd" style="text-align: left; border-left: 2px solid; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px"|1981 · 1995 |- style="display: none; height: 2px" | |- style="display: none" | class="navbox-group"|NL Division Series | class="navbox-list navbox-even" style="text-align: left; border-left: 2px solid; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px"|1995 |- style="display: none; height: 2px" | |- style="display: none" | class="navbox-group"|All-Star Game | class="navbox-list navbox-odd" style="text-align: left; border-left: 2px solid; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px"|1976 · 1978 · 1980 · 1982 · 1984 · 1986 · 1988 · 1995 |} |} |}